The latest is Volvo, who have just reported earnings for the
first quarter. The bottom-line beats expectation, but as
someone pointed out to me, the company is forecasting a rather
sharp drop in total market for construction equipment. The
management guidance now look for a –15 to –25% growth for this
segment for 2012. Previous guidance only look for a flat
year 2012.

Measured in units, the total market for construction equipment
was flat in December – February compared to the same period last
year. In Europe the market increased by 16%, North America was up
35% and South America increased by 3%. Asia excluding China was
up 24% while China decreased by 26%. Even though the Chinese
market has declined considerably, the total market in China in
the period was still bigger than the combined total markets in
North America and Europe.

For the full year 2012, Europe is expected to grow by 10–20%
(unchanged forecast), North America by 15–25% (unchanged
forecast), South America by 0–10% (unchanged forecast). Asia
excluding China is expected to grow by 0–10% (previous forecast:
10–20%) while China is expected to decline by 15–25% (previous
forecast: 0%).

The good news is that the China bus market is still doing well,
and sales of marine engines “remained stable”.